Demonic in Nature
by EmilyHawley
Summary: Connor is you're average run-of-the-mill teenage boy... With one tiny problem. He's a shadowhunter who might be falling in love with a demon.
1. Chapter 1

**I promised y'all I would write another story! This one is dedicated to my friend. I took my laptop to school one day to work on my novel (yes, I am writing a novel. I probably won't try to get it published… It's just something for fun…), and she asked me to write a story about her and a guy who looked suspiciously like Colton Haynes;) So Karen, this story's for you!**

She ran down the cracked pavement, as fast as she could. With her pale blue tulle dress billowing behind her, her brown hair blowing in the wind, she looked like a ghost. Her pursuer tripped over the cracks in the sidewalk, cursing himself every time he fell. When the girl knew she could run no more, she turned and ran into an alleyway, hiding behind one of the old abandoned warehouses lining the road. Crouching behind a broken crate, she waited for her attacker to find her.

Ж Ж Ж

Connor chased the demon girl down the street, trying not to trip and sprawl all over the ground in what would probably be considered a very undignified position. Cursing as his target slipped out of his sights, he pushed himself to go faster, hoping to catch up to the girl. From what he had seen of her so far, she appeared to be very beautiful. Curly, chocolate colored hair, an olive complexion, and slight figure, she had immediately caught his attention at the party. When he had tried to talk to her, she took one look at him, bolted out of the front door of the room, and began to run away from all of the drunken party-goers. He had chased her all the way to this dilapidated area of town, trying to catch her. If he had been a mundane, he would have given up by now. There was no way this girl was a Mundie. No human could run this hard and long without passing out.

A piece of sky blue material fluttered in the corner of his eye. Pretending not to see her, he slowed down, trying to appear as if he was lost. He saw her body begin to relax, and she slowly sunk into the shadows, probably fearful of being caught. Whirling around, he grabbed one of her arms, and yanked her towards him. It wasn't until he looked her straight in the eyes and she smiled that he realized she wasn't human. Her forked tongue slid out of her mouth, and made a hissing noise.

"Hi" she said simply, "I'm Karen."


	2. Chapter 2

**HEY GUYS! I'm soooooo sorry that it took forever to update! I'm swamped with work, and today was the first time I've been able to write for a while. Whatever… ENJOY!**

**Clary: Emily, you're forgetting something…**

**Me: No I'm not! I've got my gear, my runes, my stele… I even remembered my weapons this time!**

**Jace: Emily, you forgot the disclaimer…**

**Me: Oh… Right… I don't own The Mortal Instruments… I just own Connor…**

**Jace: I'm personally not into "owning" people, I prefer to ti-**

**Clary: Shut up, Jace. The story is starting. **

Karen hoped that the shadowhunter would think that she was a warlock. If he believed that, then technically, he couldn't kill her on site. It wasn't as if she had done anything wrong. Unless handing out invites to a downworlder party was against the Law.

The shadowhunter tightened his hand on her arm, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced at him in surprise. For the first time that night, she really got to look at him. He wasn't unnatractive, and if the situation had been different, she would have asked him out for just that. He had a strong jaw, and soft skin. His eyes seemed to shift in color, from blue to gray to green. He looked over his shoulder, and threw her arm down. He whirled around, facing away from her, staring at something in the distance.

"Herondale" He hissed through gritted teeth.

She followed his gaze to find a tall, blonde man staring at them from across the street. He looked almost angelic, leaning up against the brick wall. Next to him, a red-headed girl stood protectively next to him. The blonde man raised one finger and beckoned the shadowhunter next to Karen to join the couple.

Karen couldn't stand the curiosity any longer.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "What's your name, Nephilim".

He turned back to give her a hard stare. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, even though he tried hard to hide it. He opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shut it.

"Connor" he whispered, tight-lipped.

Quickly, he turned and jogged across the street to meet the odd couple. Karen debated following him. If she left now, he wouldn't catch her. She could be free again. But still, something about Connor drew her in. She found herself wanting to know more about him. It was also a good chance to pass herself off as a warlock, and to better understand the Nephilim. The pros definitely outweighed the cons, and she ran to catch up with Connor.

ФФФ


	3. Chapter 3

Why the hell was Herondale here? Every time the guy showed up, bad things happened. Not to mention that girlfriend of his. She scared Connor to death. For such a small person, Clarissa Fray packed a punch, metaphorically and literally. She may have been short, but she held herself like someone of a much taller stature. She had a strange confidence about her, not arrogant but definitely very strong. Jace Herondale, in contrast, was very tall. He was confident in a way that Connor had never seen before. It was an odd mixture of arrogance and indifference, like someone who knows they're superior and doesn't care if everyone else know it or not.

"What do you want, Herondale?" Connor asked, feeling exceedingly agitated.

"You know, sarcasm is the first defense of the weak-minded" Jace said, haughtily.

Clary broke in "Well Jace, that explains why you use it so often."

Turning to Connor, she smiled. He heard footsteps behind him. A small hand on his shoulder alerted him to the presence of Karen. He brightened at the thought of her following him. Only minutes before, the situation had been nearly the exact opposite.

"Clary, Jace, This is Karen. Karen this is Clary and Jace." Connor made the introductions

For a moment, he thought he saw fear flash through Karen's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. She held out a shaky hand to Jace, and when he didn't accept it she turned to Clary.

"All right, now that everybody knows everybody, you wanna explain why you're chasing a warlock through the shadier parts of New York?" Jace quietly asked.

"You wanna explain why you brought your girlfriend on a date in the shadier parts of New York" Connor replied, irked.

"Connor, we chased an eidolon into this area. He disappeared into a frat party a few blocks back. We figured he would eventually leave, and because neither of us are dressed for a party, we decided to wait it out." Clary stated quickly, before Jace could say something.

"So, have you seen a demon? And don't lie to me like you did last time" Jace said, dissaprovingly.

Both Karen and Clary looked at him in surprise. _Now you've done it, moron _Connor thought to himself. _Neither of them had any idea that you and I knew eachother. _

"Jace" Clary said in a tight voice. Her blonde boy toy looked somewhat sheepish. That surprised Connor. _I didn't think anybody could make the infamous Jace Herondale look like that. _Hethought to himself. Clary was the first to speak up.

"Jace… Again?" she looked at her boyfriend, her eyes searching.

Jace shrugged and said simply "Again."

_He's going to tell her._

Connor winced inwardly at the thought. He didn't have any good feelings about the next few minutes. Something serious was about to go down.

"Jace, do you know him?" Clary asked quietly.

"Clary, Connor is my brother."


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG GUYSSSSS IM SOOOOOOOO SORRY! I did NOT realize how long its been since I updated! My friend, Karen, (Yes, the person in the story. Don't worry; the character is based off of her) had to chastise me today for not updating… oops… Annnnnyways, I do apologize if this chapter sucks… I got a concussion a few days ago, and I really can't concentrate on anything… All my medication does is make me tired, so I was too sleepy to edit this chapter. So here is the rough cut version. If you guys reallllllllly want me to edit, send me a pm and I'll send you the revised chapter. **

**Happy Reading! (And as Jace would say: I do not own the Mortal Instruments…)**

"Your BROTHER?!"

Jace winced at Clary's shrill outburst. He had been trying to find a way to tell her, but he could never find the right time. It wasn't as if he could just slip it into the , _Hey, Babe, I'll pick you up at 8. By the way, I just found out I have a long lost brother. Wanna meet him? _just didn't seem appropriate. Jace had hoped he could manage to tell her in a way that would sort of downplay the family drama. The Angel knew they both had enough of that. Still, he was praying that she wouldn't freak out.

"Jace" she said carefully, her teeth gritted, obviously holding back anger or annoyance. Possibly both.

"Jace, why didn't you tell me?"

"Clary, I tried. I wasn't quite sure how to. I figured that you might be disappointed."

She gave him a strange look.

"How so, Jace?"

"Well" he smirked "I thought that if I told you I had a brother, you would expect him to look like me. Now who wouldn't want two me's?" He waggled his eyebrows at her. Clary shot him a look, half of disdain, half of amusement.

"Anyways" Clary began before Jace could continue to praise the idea of two Jace's "Would you care to tell me _how _you found out about Connor?" her voice was neutral, as if expecting something bad, but hoping it wouldn't.

"Well, you remember those letters from my father?"

Clary nodded.

He cleared his throat, unsure of how to continue. Clary always had that effect on him. Around other girls, he was cool, calm, and suave; the perfect lady's man. But around Clary, he couldn't concentrate on anything but her; her curly hair, her emerald eyes, the way she fit perfectly in his arms…

He shook his head slightly, to clear his thoughts. As pleasant as they were, he needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

"I was reading through them, again, looking for anything of importance. Stephen was going on and on about his family tree. With each new generation, he mentioned a new book with characters that had similar personalities. At the end of the letter, he mentioned a box that he had left in the possesion of the Silent Brothers. Curious, I called up one of the Brothers, and inquired about the box. The brother I spoke to, Brother Rafael, told me that the box had been left in their protection until the son of Stephen Herondale came to claim it. Within the week, I had gone to the City of Bones to collect this gift from my father. When I opened it, I was a little disappointed to see a bunch of books, most of which I already owned. In anger, I dumped the box upside down and started tearing out the pages of the books. One page caught my eye. Actually, two words. My name. I stopped attacking the papers, and started reading them instead. It looked like the original words in the books had been torn out and replaced with Stephen's own words. He went on and on about the different family members. My grandfather, my mother, Amatis, everyone. And then there was a name I didn't recognize. Connor's. He was the secret son of Stephen and his wife."

Clary broke in "Celine had another son?" she asked, appearing slightly confused.

"No, Connor is the son of Stephen and _Amatis_. After Valentine forced Stephen to leave her, he and Amatis continued seeing eachother in secret. When she got pregnant, Amatis tried to stay in her house all the time. Most people thought that she was hiding in shame; divorce in our world is considered an abomination. When she gave birth to him, Amatis gave Connor up for a mundane adoption. As soon as I learned this, I hunted him down. I couldn't let my big brother be all alone with the mundies… Who knows what those girls would do to him" Jace mock shudders.

Connor stiffened at the words _big brother. _Jace figured Connor just wasn't used to being related to someone as amazing as himself. _Oh well, he'll get used to it_, He thought to himself.

Clary shook her head. Jace watched as her flaming curls fell across her face, covering her eyes.

"So, its Karen, right?" she asked the girl standing slightly behind Connor. The girl appeared nervous, her brown eyes darting back and forth, like someone who's been caught doing something wrong.

"Ummmm…. Yeah. She whispered. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for Connor's arm. So slightly, a mundie would have missed it for sure, and even Jace barely managed to notice. He tensed, preparing for bad news, scared of what was coming. She opened her mouth to talk, and almost as if she had no control, a small forked toungue snaked forward. She clamped her mouth shut, turned on her heel, and ran.

**AN: I went a little crazy this week and drew runes all over myself. If you wanna see pictures, look at my instagram: emilybrookehawley**

**the site won't let me make an "at" symbol in front of my account name... erghhhhhhhhhh...**

**No reviews, No updates… SO HURRY UP AND REVIEW**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok guys, I feel horrible. I forgot to update again! OMG I FEEL SO MEAN! Ok, my little minions, I should probably explain **_**why **_**it took so long. Well, right after I uploaded the previous chapter, I started writing this one. But I didn't like what I wrote, so I trashed it. Then, I tried again. And again. And again. Then I gave up. Karen (my friend, not the story character… even though the character is sorta based on her… So Karen is Karen, but then Karen isn't Karen… Catch my dri- oh never mind…) Well, I finally managed to write a somewhat successful chapter.**

**Enjoy, my little fellow duck haters;)**

_ Crap. CrapCrapCrap. She's gone. I just found her, and she's gone again. I don't care if she's a warlock… By the Angel, I'm a moron. _As Connor ran, his thoughts only semi-coherent, he felt dread rush through him. _What if she's a demon? Oh, Raziel save me. _

When Connor had first seen Karen at the party, he thought that she was just your run of the mill Mundie who got sucked into the downworld. He figured it was a routine rescue mission; get in, save her, kill the demons that had bound her to them, the works. But when he had tried to grab her attention at the party, by simply touching her arm, he felt a shock roll through him. Where his skin touched hers, invisible lightning surged. Connor didn't understand it, but the Angel knew he would try. When he had seen her tongue, he figured she was a warlock. No biggie. He had heard of shadowhunters dating warlocks. In fact, Jace's adoptive brother, Alec, was dating the High Warlock of Brooklyn. And Alec was also gay. Double whammy. _At least I wouldn't look bad compared to him and his boyfriend. _

Connor's foot caught in a crack in the road, and he went flying through the air. He twisted his torso in midair, and ended up doing a front-flip, landing gracefully on his feet. He looked around. He was off on the side of the road, halfway tucked into the entrance of an alley. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pale blue. A feeling of déjà vu coursed through him. For the second time tonight, he had cornered her in an alley, behind a dumpster.

"If you would like to know, I'm all alone. I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanna help. I swear to the Angel"

o.O.o

Karen heard Connor. She wanted to trust him. She had the strangest urge to run out and hug him, to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be ok. She heard him swear on the Angel. That alone almost made Karen leave her niche. Swears on the Angel were taken very seriously, but who knew; maybe there was an exception when it came to talking to demons. Maybe the shadowhunters could just throw around the Angel's name, if it meant a demon would be killed.

A scraping sound snapped her to attention. The world around her became sharper as her breathing became shallower; almost as if focusing she was focusing a camera. She watched as Connor slid down the wall he was leaning against, coming to a stopping point when he was sitting on the ground. He took out a strange stick-like object, and began to draw on himself with it. A strangely pleasant burning smell permeated the air, and Karen stared at his drawings with rapt interest. _Runes _A voice in the back of her head whispered. _The drawings are called runes. _

_ Great, _Karen thought sarcastically. _Now I'm hearing voices. I am certifiably insane. _She leaned back in her little corner behind the dumpster, and flinched when a twig snapped under her. She saw Connors's head swivel around, and Karen began to face the idea of her imminent death.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok if you guys wanna make me feel horrible, just PM me with messages about how mad you are at me. A simple "why didn't you update" or "I hate you" will suffice. I love you guys, but you probably hate me… Alright, so down to business… I didn't update cuz I didn't have time! A week of walking around Washington DC for 6-8 hours a day will do that to a person! **

***makes a serious face* I don't own MI… *starts sobbing here* But I wish I did!**

**And now for the story…**

Connor whirled around, drawing a seraph blade out of his belt as he did so. Naming it _Sanve, _he quickly slipped into the shadows. The mysterious intruder padded into the alley, not making a single sound. Connor reacted immediately by flinging his blade straight at the mystery person. When the blade was about 5 feet away from its designated target, it stopped suddenly and fell to the ground, like it had given up. The mystery intruder bent over and picked up the blade. Connor saw a flash of flame colored hair and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Clary, what the hell do you think you're doing? I almost killed you! If the blade hadn't done that weird thing, you would be dead now and Jace would be trying to kill me!" Connor berated the red-headed girl. She looked him right in the eye and smirked. She smirked! The fact that she had the nerve to scare him to death and _smirk in the face of death-_

Clary interrupted his thoughts with a small cough. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and the dumpster that he knew Karen was hiding behind. Clary made a move towards where the demon girl was, only to be stopped by Connor.

"But I have to do this! The Clave has recently been reformed, and if we don't set the example, the Clave will think the new ways are ineffective!" she complained.

"No." he said simply. No one would touch Karen. Connor had seen how Jace and Clary looked at each other. He had seen their longing, their love. Connor knew that he wanted Karen to look at him like that, and he knew he wanted her to let him look at her in the same fashion. But all was for naught if Clary eliminated the demon girl right now. "Clary, the new Clave stands for equality required for all! If you let werewolves and vampires and faeries have freedoms, why not demons?"

"If we open up this world to demons, it will be destroyed! Are you willing to destroy the whole world just so you can be with this girl?" she regarded him with a strange look in her eyes.

"I don't know. I feel something about her! Could you just hold off on killing her or telling the Clave until I figure out this mess?" Connor pleaded with her, hoping she would understand.

She looked down at the ground for a moment, obviously weighing her options. When Clary finally looked up at him again, Connor rejoiced at the warm look in her eyes.

"You act like I did when I first met Jace. The Daylighter, who was my best friend, warned me against knowing him. I always ignored him. I just knew there was something about Jace, something different. If you feel the same way about this demon girl, I won't stop you."

Connor nodded and Clary left the alley. He turned around, hoping to talk to Karen. Maybe this time she would listen instead of running. It upset him that they had never had a real conversation. He reached the dumpster, and had to pull back when something attacked him.

o.O.o

Clary smiled slightly as she left the alley. She was surprised that she had to give relationship advice now. For so long she had been that lonely girl, always the quiet one in class, last picked for sports. Never asked out. Now, she was the badass shadowhunter with a steady boyfriend. _So much has changed _she thought to herself as Jace rounded the corner of the street and made his way towards her.

Her smile faltered as she realized what she would have to tell Jace. Clary was happy with the decision she made. Letting Connor talk it out with Karen and decide what to do was definitely the right choice. Clary just hoped Jace would agree without attempting to kill Karen.

Jace's belt full of knives flashed in the sun, and Clary thought about her new rune. It was designed to ward off weapons, both angelic and demonic in nature. Of course, it didn't work with hand-to-hand combat… She had learned that quickly. When she had first designed the rune, Clary had attempted to use it during her training sessions with Jace, hoping to surprise him. Unfortunately, she ended up surprised when Jace had pinned her to the floor in five seconds flat. She remembered suggesting that they spar it out with seraph blades, one on one. He had made some sort of dirty joke, and she had walked over to the weapons rack. Thanking the Angel that the blades didn't skitter away from her when she reached out to grab one, she turned around to face Jace. He had this impish smile on his face that said _I'm going to beat you and I don't know why you think you can win. _He had sauntered after her with a knife that he had kept in the pocket of his jacket. They had fought for about five minutes when Jace disarmed her. He attempted to hold the knife up to her throat, and gasped in shock when the blade yanked itself out of his grasp and landed on the floor. Clary had giggled at his expression when he tried it again with another knife, only to have the same results. After a few more tries, he gave up and looked at her with a single raised eyebrow. Clary pulled out her stele that she always kept with her, and waved it in Jace's face. He had laughed and wrapped her in a bear hug.

A noise yanked her out of the pleasant flashback and into reality. Jace was standing there, looking at her expectantly. He had his arms crossed and was tapping a foot in mock annoyance.

"I'm sorry, what?" Clary figured he had asked her a question.

"I _saaaaid, _do you know where they went?" Jace asked, drawing out the second word much longer than Clary thought humanly possible. She debated between telling him and not telling him. If she didn't tell him what had happened, he would hunt down Karen and kill her. If Clary did tell Jace, he would hunt down Connor and kill him. Either way, Jace would try to kill someone, but Connor probably stood a better chance of fighting Jace off.

"Jace, Connor obviously wants to talk to Karen. Could you just leave them alone? If anything gets out of hand, you know Connor will just kill her." Clary inwardly winced at the lie. She knew Connor would never kill the demon girl, even if it meant saving the world. He had basically told her so.

"Clary, the girl is a _demon. _You know, the things that shadowhunters kill? And just in case you've forgotten, you and I are shadowhunters. Now where did they go?"

"Jace, just think about what could happen if we had a demon on our side! She could teach us how they keep slipping through the wards that protect our world! She could tell us how to block off the demons effectively! Just think with your head for one minute! This could change our lives forever!" The argument poured out of Clary's mouth before she had time to even register what she was saying. As she spoke, Jace's face grew darker and darker. He opened his mouth, most likely with some extremely witty comeback at the ready, when a voice cut him off.

"Hey, I won't hurt you if you don't try to kill me."

Clary whirled around to see Karen standing there, totally defenseless. Her posture was relaxed, bored almost. Everything about her radiated calm, except for her hands. They were both clenched in fists, so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She reminded Clary of herself when she had just been introduced to the world that had quickly become her reality. Karen's attempt at looking calm failed miserably, and Clary wondered if she knew it.

Of course, the façade was completely blown when Jace leaped onto Karen, seraph blades poised to kill.

**A/N: Karen, I hope you feel better! Here's a chapter as a "get well soon" gift!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I just wanted to ask y'all a question. Have you read my oneshot "You're REAL!"? I might want to turn that oneshot into a full-blown story, but I'm sort of hesitant. Why, you ask? Because I don't know if I have time! So if you think I should turn this oneshot into a story, PM me. If not, then just ignore my rambling. **

**Even after wishing on a star, breaking a wishbone, staring at my clock until 11:11, and writing 3 separate fanfictions about TMI, I still do not own the Mortal Instruments… The book series, not the literal Mortal Instruments… Although, I don't own those either…**

_Of course, the façade was completely blown when Jace leaped onto Karen, seraph blades poised to kill._

The entire day, Jace had been at war with himself. He had figured Karen was a demon, but he wasn't completely sure. It wasn't until he had seen the look in Connor's eyes, the same exact look that Jace had given Clary when he had kissed her for the first time, Jace knew things would only go from bad to worse if Karen lived. _When you pull out a weed, you have to get the root. Otherwise, the weed will just keep coming back. _The words of Jace's old teacher, Hodge, came back to him now. In this case, Connor's feelings for Karen were the weeds, and Karen was the roots. When he heard her quietly approaching them, speaking calmly, Jace lost it. He yanked two seraph blades out of his belt and attacked.

He was maybe 5 feet in the air, when a dark mass hit him in the side, effectively knocking him out of the air. He lay on the ground, wheezing from his hard contact with the asphalt. Jace only had a second to recover when he felt something strike him across the face. He raised his arms to defend himself, when his assailant was ripped off of him. Jace jumped up and skittered back five feet, a wave of nausea coming over him. Thankfully, there was a lamppost for him to hang on to. Nothing like tripping and falling on your ass in front over the person who attacked you.

When Jace finally looked up, he saw Clary with her arm around Connor. Heat surged through him. What was she _doing_? Jace stumbled over to Clary, his mind fogged through with rage. He stepped up to Connor and punched him in the face.

"What the _fuc-"_

"Language, dear brother, language. You wouldn't want your girlfriend to hear that would you?" Jace said, maliciously. Connor's mouth clamped shut.

"Now, Connor, would you mind telling me _why _you just attacked me?" Jace asked, still trying to clear his mind. His head was pounding, and he desperately needed an _iratze. _He looked to Clary for support. She let go of Connor and walked over to Jace at once. Grabbing his arm, she muttered "_You are _such _an idiot. Yu know that right?"_ She began drawing the healing rune on his arm.

"Well, Jace, I wouldn't have had to attack you if you hadn't tried to kill Karen." Connor began, obviously fuming. Jace chuckled inwardly, noticing how Connor only referred to Karen as _Karen. _Not his girlfriend or love or anything like that. Jace wondered how long that would last. If these two were anything like Clary and himself, it wouldn't be long at all. Which was why he had to kill her. Not just because she was a demon, but also because he couldn't allow his half-brother to date something like that. It would not end well.

"Connor, you know full well why I tried to kill her. You can't date a demon! You can't fall in love with a demon! You know what the Clave would do!" Jace tried to reason with his half-brother.

A cold look rose in Connor's eyes. "Well, you fell in love with a Mundie, didn't you? And we _both _know how the Clave feels about that."

Beside Jace, Clary stiffened. He knew she hated being referred to as a Mundie, especially because she was the reason the Clave won the Mortal War. Just as he was about to give Connor a scathing reply, a small voice cut him off.

"Jace… That's your name right?"

Jace silently nodded at Karen. Honestly, he had forgotten she was even there. She had a long scratch across her cheek that grew fainter and fainter as the seconds passed.

"Well, Jace, you better listen to me. The demons are restless. Since Sebastian was defeated, they've been plotting the destruction of the world as you know it."

Jace smirked. "So, demons are plotting our death. That's not new. In fact, I hear that happens just about every day."

"But I'm sure that they've never tried to use you and Clarissa as their secret weapon."

**Ooooooo we got some crazy shit going on down here! Jace and Clary are secret weapons? Mayybe! Just keep reading! **

**Just keep reading!**

**What do we do?**

**We read, read!**

***Sing to "Just Keep Swimmin" from Finding Nemo***


	8. An Apology to my Nonexistent Fanbase

**Hi guys. **

**I have hit a major wall in all of my stories under this category. For some reason, I can't seem to write about Clace or Malec or anyone. I have been debating this decision for the past couple weeks, and I have made my choice. **

**I am taking a break from my Mortal Instruments stories.**

**I am still writing my Percy Jackson fan fictions. If you want to check those out, just go visit my profile. Also, if any of you use FitionPress, you can check out some of my original short stories and poems. **

**I really wish that I could keep writing these stories, but I can't do it if my heart isn't in it. And it's not. I don't want to give you awesome readers any terrible chapters, so I'm going to take a few months off of these stories. If I get my inspiration back, I will continue to update. If not, I will load another AN telling you that I'm ending my stories.**

**Please, don't hate me. **

**And to my nonexistent fan base, I am really sorry.**

**To anyone who actually read this whole letter, thank you.**

**XOXOX**

**Emily Hawley**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay guys, so I took a few months off as promised (obviously) and it helped. While I won't be consistent about my chapters (my teachers have decided that I don't need a life outside of school) I will be continuing these stories. So to those two people out there that actually read this story, here you go. And to the real life Karen, your love story is back on**

_"But I'm sure that they've never tried to use you and Clarissa as their secret weapon."_

As Karen watched him, Jace began to laugh. No, laugh was the wrong word for it. The sound he made was cold, reminiscent of steel hitting iron. His face was tight and his eyes looked wrong. Clary seemed to notice and she strengthened her grip on his arm.

"Oh Karen," he began "you are only half right. While we have never been used by demons exclusively, we have had a demon half breed try to use us. But there is no use living in the past, as they say, so tell me, which demons want us this time and why?"

Karen stared at him in utter disbelief. She had just dropped a bomb on him, and Jace was acting like it was no big deal. It was almost like he dealt with this sort of thing every day.

Of course, if the rumors were true, he sort of did.

Still, Karen felt Clary's stare and she became slightly uncomfortable under the heat of the redhead's stare.

"Karen, I need you to tell me what's going on. Just ignore Jace. He being a pompous ass, like usual."

"Hey!" Jace chimed in. "No need to insult me!"

"Your ego was starting to become visible. It needed a good injury." Clary turned back to Karen with an expectant look on her face.

Karen could still see Connor out of the corner of her eye. Somehow, throughout the past few hours, he had become her safety net in the strange world that he seemed so comfortable in. He was leaning towards her protectively, as if he expected Jace to pounce again. Of course, with how tightly wound Jace's muscles seemed to be, it wouldn't really surprise Karen if he tried to attack her a second time.

"Clary, the demons are planning something. I can't tell you with a hundred percent certainty yet, because Connor sort of chased me away from my source at that party I was attending, but if you guys could help me get in contact again with the informant, I could tell you."

Jae glared at her with his golden eyes that seemed as cold as metal. "You expect us to just help you? Really, demon, think."

"Stop calling her 'demon'. It's kind of considered an offensive term, you know." Connor broke in. "Of course, we'll help you. Anything to prevent the destruction of the earth." He glared at Jace with warning eyes, as if saying "you better help or I'll kill you". Clary seemed to notice the tense atmosphere surrounding the two boys, because she stood on her tiptoes and whispered something in Jace's ear. A moment later, he relaxed his muscles, but maintained his glare.

"Alright, Karen, what do we need to do?" Clary asked in that quietly firm voice that she had become famous for.

o.O.o

"Alec, what do you think is taking the two of them so long? They've been gone all day!" the tall girl with the raven black hair asked the older boy across from her.

"Probably just running cleanup, Isabelle. You know how these demons can be sometimes. They interact with the mundies and then when they're dead, the mundies wonder where their little friends have gone. Jace and Clary are probably just covering the demons' tracks." Alec answered his sister absentmindedly.

Isabelle sighed. Sometimes, her brother just didn't get it. She wasn't worried about Jace and Clary getting hurt, per se. Those two could handle themselves just fine. She was really just scared about what would happen if she and Alec's mother came home while Jace and Clary were still gone. The two had been banned from demon hunting together since Jace nearly went on a murderous rampage when an eidolon demon said a foul word to Clary. The two were now only allowed to hunt together when absolutely necessary or when they had another shadowhunter along to chaperone them.

Isabelle was in the middle of contemplating what would happen if Jace had actually gone through with his murderous rampage when her phone rang. The caller ID flashed Clary's name and Isabelle immediately let out a cry of joy. Flipping open her cell, she answered Clary with her usual verve.

"Hey Clary! I am so glad you called. I need to get out of the Institute! I am absolutely bored stiff. How long until you and Jace arrive?"

Isabelle jumped when Jace's voice greeted her instead of Clary's.

"Hey, Iz. I need the Sanctuary open as soon as we get home. We have a demon that we need to thoroughly questioned, and Clary won't let me conduct the interrogation here. Can you get everything ready for us?"

"And hello to you too Mr. Business. Yeah, I can get everything set up but only if you get Clary to promise to go shopping soon. I need new shoes and she needs new clothes."

"I swear on the Angel, Izzy, one of these days Clary is going to get fed up with being your Barbie doll." Isabelle heard some faint talking in the background and then Jace was back. "Yeah, Iz, she promises. Now can you prep the Sanctuary? We'll be home in about half an hour."

The line went dead before Isabelle could reply.

**Yeah, I know… It was kinda short… But I do have a bio lab report to finish so au revoir! **


End file.
